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Week 15 NFL Picks and Discussion Thread!

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Week 15 NFL Picks and Discussion Thread!

Postby Everlong » Dec 11, '18, 2:53 pm

Three weeks left of the regular season, and there’s still a whole lot of movement that can happen in the playoff picture. Even John’s Browns are still alive!

GAME OF THE WEEK – THURSDAY NIGHT – Los Angeles Chargers (10-3) at Kansas City Chiefs (11-2), KC by 3.5 – Huge game here. A win by the Chiefs puts them one step closer to the top seed in the AFC, but a win by the Chargers would suddenly put them in the driver’s seat for the AFC West. Huge stakes here, and fortunately for the Chiefs, they’re playing at home on a short week, which gives them a huge advantage. Looking forward to this one. Chiefs 34, Chargers 27

SATURDAY – Houston Texans (9-4) at New York Jets (4-9), HOU by 6.5 – Disappointing loss for the Texans against the Colts this past week, ending their nine-game winning streak, but they get to right the ship against a lousy Jets team and continue a push for the second seed. Texans 24, Jets 13

SATURDAY – Cleveland Browns (5-7-1) at Denver Broncos (6-7), DEN by 3.5 – The Cleveland Browns are playing some pretty solid football lately, and look like a completely different team with Hue Jackson gone. Going into Denver and picking up a win is never an easy task, but right now they just look like a team with their arrow pointing up, unlike the Broncos, who have been unreliable and mediocre all season long. UPSET! – GPODAWUND 27, Broncos 20

Arizona Cardinals (3-10) at Atlanta Falcons (4-9), ATL by 9 – The Falcons are looking like a team that’s completely given up, and the Cardinals could only manage to score three points in a home game against the Lions. Get ready for some shitty football. Falcons 20, Cardinals 7

Detroit Lions (5-8) at Buffalo Bills (4-9), BUF by 2.5 – Nothing on the line here. Detroit looked bad against the Cardinals in victory, Buffalo looked bad against the Jets in defeat. When in doubt, take the home team. Bills 23, Lions 20

Green Bay Packers (5-7-1) at Chicago Bears (9-4), CHI by 4 – The Packers actually have a realistic path to the playoffs if they win out. Of course, that’s a WHOLE lot of faith to place in a team that’s looked like hot garbage for most of the last two months. Still, the Packers did show some signs of life against Atlanta, finally putting together a complete team performance. The Packers have also won in Chicago eight times in a row, for what that’s worth. This Bears defense is capable of putting the hurt on great offenses. Unfortunately for them, the Packers don’t have a great offense. ;) UPSET! - Packers 20, Bears 17

Oakland Raiders (3-10) at Cincinnati Bengals (5-8), CIN by 3 – It’s the curse of Hue Jackson. The Bengals might not win another game this year. UPSET! – Raiders 33, Bengals 20

Dallas Cowboys (8-5) at Indianapolis Colts (7-6), IND by 3 – The Cowboys earned a bit of breathing room by taking down the Eagles in week 14, while the Colts battled back into the wild card hunt by knocking off the division-leading Texans. Right now it’s a foregone conclusion that the Cowboys will win, meaning the Colts have a lot more on the line in this game. Still, with the way the Cowboys have been playing defense lately, it sure is hard to pick against them. UPSET! – Cowboys 27, Colts 23

Miami Dolphins (7-6) at Minnesota Vikings (6-6-1), MIN by 8 – Oddsmakers putting a whole lot of faith in a Vikings team that has looked like crap on offense for a couple weeks in a row, especially against a Dolphins team still playing for a playoff spot themselves. This is about as big as a late-season interconference game can get, with huge wild card implications. Right now, the Vikings just don’t like a team capable of scoring enough points to win much of anything, even if their pass defense is playing lights out. UPSET! – Dolphins 27, Vikings 20

Tennessee Titans (7-6) at New York Giants (5-8), NYG by 2.5 – Don’t look now, but the Giants are finally starting to put the pieces together after a 1-7 start. They’re not going to make the playoffs this year, but this momentum could very well carry over into the 2019 season. Giants 24, Titans 20

Washington (6-7) at Jacksonville Jaguars (4-9), JAX by 7 – Two teams that are sinking fast. The Jaguars are only favored because Washington has 21 players on IR and is going to be starting a quarterback who was playing a charity flag football game just over a week ago. Jaguars 20, Washington 10

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-8) at Baltimore Ravens (7-6), BAL by 8 – The Ravens are yet another team in the crowded 7-6 logjam in the AFC that also includes the Colts, Titans and Dolphins. I trust them far more than the Bucs to come out with a win here, keeping them in the playoff hunt. Ravens 27, Bucs 23

Seattle Seahawks (8-5) at San Francisco 49ers (3-10), SEA by 5 – Seattle’s going to be heading into San Francisco on a short week. It’s essentially wrapped up the fifth seed in the NFC, but there’s still some football to play. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the 49ers score an upset, but I’ll take the safe bet. Seahawks 30, 49ers 17

New England Patriots (9-4) at Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5-1), NE by 2 - Shocking losses for both teams last week, but the Steelers’ loss to the Raiders could have been a season-jeopardizing blow. Now they have to take on the Patriots, a team they’ve historically struggled against, and if they lose and Baltimore wins they’ll suddenly be looking up in the divisional standings. Yikes. Patriots 34, Steelers 21

Philadelphia Eagles (6-7) at Los Angeles Rams (11-2), LAR by 8.5 – Have to believe the NFL was hoping for a more compelling matchup out of this game at this point of the season. The Rams need to keep winning to have a shot at the #1 seed, as they’ve now fallen behind New Orleans once again based on tiebreakers. Rams 37, Eagles 19

New Orleans Saints (11-2) at Carolina Panthers (6-7), NO by 6.5 – The Panthers have lost three straight and look like a team that’s completely out of it. A win for the Saints keeps them in control of the top seed in the playoffs. These two teams will meet again just two weeks from now. Saints 31, Panthers 17
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Re: Week 15 NFL Picks and Discussion Thread!

Postby The Legend » Dec 12, '18, 2:07 pm

GAME OF THE WEEK – THURSDAY NIGHT – Los Angeles Chargers (10-3) at Kansas City Chiefs (11-2), KC by 3.5 – This is a huge game for both teams, but if for largely different reasons. The Chargers need to win this one to keep faint hopes of winning the division alive. The Chiefs can still win the division if they lose simply by winning out and taking the tiebreaker. However, Kansas City still has plenty on the line, beyond the obvious push for home field throughout January, the Chiefs have played in arguably the two biggest games of the year, but lost both of them. Andy Reid's reputation for not being able to win the big game will take another huge hit if he can't lead Kansas City at least on a deep January run and beating a playoff team here at home would be a good place to start. On a more practical level, the Chiefs and LA are likely to meet in the division round of the playoffs (I have little faith in whoever wins the AFC North and gets the fourth seed and even less faith in the second wild card team being able to beat the Patriots or Texans), and sweeping the Chargers would be good momentum for January. A short week makes this a little harder to predict, but I'll take the home team here. KC Chiefs 30, LA Chargers 28

SATURDAY – Houston Texans (9-4) at New York Jets (4-9), HOU by 6.5 – The Texans winning streak wasn't going to last forever, but that's no matter, Houston is still closing in on an at least somewhat improbable division title with a two-game lead on both the Colts and Titans with three games left. There's no reason to believe the Jets will offer much resistance to the Texans getting back on the winning track. Houston Texans 24, NY Jets 17

SATURDAY – Cleveland Browns (5-7-1) at Denver Broncos (6-7), DEN by 3.5 – Don't look now, but the Cleveland Browns have won three of their last four games over the past month-plus. The last big hurdle to clear is to begin to bring the confidence the team readily shows at home on the road with it, where the Browns have only won one of their first six tries. Here's a depressing factoid, the only team that historically has owned the Browns is the Broncos. Cleveland has only beaten Denver five times since the beginning of the Broncos' existance. Logic be damned (and John Elway be damned, too), Bakermania is taking over Lake Erie. UPSET!! Cleveland Browns 23, Denver Broncos 21

Arizona Cardinals (3-10) at Atlanta Falcons (4-9), ATL by 9 – Nothing more than draft stock on the line in this one, Arizona is one of a large number of teams to possess a matching worst record in the NFL this season. This game could go a myriad of ways and I'd believe you because it's next to impossible to know what you're going to get out of either of these teams from week to week, but I'll stick with the home team. Atlanta Falcons 24, Arizona Cardinals 20

Detroit Lions (5-8) at Buffalo Bills (4-9), BUF by 2.5 – Again, not much on the line, but I think Detroit will ride the momentum of last week's win into a second straight. UPSET!! Detroit Lions 21, Buffalo Bills 20

Green Bay Packers (5-7-1) at Chicago Bears (9-4), CHI by 4 – Sorry Tim, I'd love to back you in the mission of a Frozen Tundra Miracle, but this is the game where Packer playoff hopes go to die. Chicago wins the game and the NFC North Division. Chicago Bears 27, GB Packers 20

Oakland Raiders (3-10) at Cincinnati Bengals (5-8), CIN by 3 – Why are we being condemned to such an awful football game? Raiders seem to have momentum, Bengals seem to have slightly more talent. Flip a damn coin and then go with the home team to snap its losing streak. Cincy Bengals 27, Oakland Raiders 23

Dallas Cowboys (8-5) at Indianapolis Colts (7-6), IND by 3 – The Dallas Cowboys, who started the season 3-5, are red hot and fast approaching an NFC East championship. Who would have thunk it? That being said, much like the Texans winning streaks are made to be broken. There's much more on the line for the Colts, who are fighting with three other 7-6 teams for a wild card berth. I think Andrew Luck outshoots Dak in this one. Indy Colts 24, Dallas Cowboys 22

Miami Dolphins (7-6) at Minnesota Vikings (6-6-1), MIN by 8 – Another huge playoff implication game with two teams fighting for their conference's respective last spot. Miami was freaking lucky to beat the Patriots last week when Belichick had the fartiest of brain farts. The Vikings are one of the more complete teams in the NFL when they play up to potential, but that has rarely happened this season. That being said, I think Minnesota has enough firepower to win at home (I also hope they do since Adam Thielan and Dalvin Cook feature prominently in my chances of advancing to the championship in my fantasy league). Minnesota Vikings 24, Miami Dolphins 20

Tennessee Titans (7-6) at New York Giants (5-8), NYG by 2.5 – The Giants have won four of their last five games, while Tennessee has won back to back games, which is about the max for what that unreliable team can do. I'll take New York to win this one and break up the Titans chances to make the playoffs. NY Giants 24, Tennessee Titans 23

Washington (6-7) at Jacksonville Jaguars (4-9), JAX by 7 – There's not many teams I believe these Jaguars can beat. A team in the most desperate of injury situations - particularly at quarterback - is one of them. Jacksonville Jaguars 20, Washington 17

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-8) at Baltimore Ravens (7-6), BAL by 8 – It would be fantastic if Tampa could beat the Ratbirds, but come on now. Baltimore Ravens 28, TB Buccaneers 21

Seattle Seahawks (8-5) at San Francisco 49ers (3-10), SEA by 5 – All that stands between the Seahawks and another trip to the postseason is Nick Mullens and the Niners. That won't be much of an obstacle on Sunday. Seattle Seahawks 27, SF Niners 19

New England Patriots (9-4) at Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5-1), NE by 2 - Fuck the Squeelers, they couldn't beat the Raiders, how in the world are they going to beat a fired up Patriots team determined to overcome last week's stupidity? NE Patriots 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 24

Philadelphia Eagles (6-7) at Los Angeles Rams (11-2), LAR by 8.5 – The Rams will be looking to quickly overcome last week's set back against the Bears and prove that the offense is still as potent as ever. The Eagles don't nearly have Chicago's talent on defense and therefore don't stand a chance. LA Rams 30, Philly Eagles 23

New Orleans Saints (11-2) at Carolina Panthers (6-7), NO by 6.5 – Man what has happened to the Panthers? Cam Newton is clearly feeling some shoulder injury problems and his accuracy is suffering because of it. The Saints are another team in need of a rebound and Carolina should offer some help. NO Saints 31, Carolina Panthers 23
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